PRESS RELEASE: THREE ORGANISATIONS LAUNCH PROJECT TO HELP 300 WOMEN TURN FOOD WASTE INTO INCOME

Women across Nigeria’s six zones to be trained in food upcycling and enterprise October 2026

Nourish, Save, Earn: Empowering Women Across Nigeria Through Upcycled Foods (NSE-Nigeria) is a 12-month project launching in October 2026 through a consortium of three organisations: Shaping African Women in STEM (SWIS Africa), Zero Food Waste Initiative (ZFWI), and ElevateHER Innovation Space. Running from October 2026 to September 2027, the project aims to empower women across Nigeria through food upcycling, promoting sustainable food practices while creating opportunities for economic empowerment.

Nigeria loses an estimated 40% of its food after harvest. Women do much of the country’s food processing and trading, yet rarely have the skills, technology or finance to turn what is wasted into income. NSE-Nigeria will directly train 300 women across all six geopolitical zones to turn food by-products into food products they can sell, such as flour from soybean okara and plantain peels, snacks from mango pulp, and flour from tiger-nut pulp.

Training will be delivered through a free, self-paced online course hosted on the STREAMING learning platform, in English, Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo and Nigerian Sign Language, with short videos that can be watched offline. Graduates will each mentor community women, aiming to indirectly reach more than 1,500, and 60 will be supported to launch their own upcycling businesses. The project welcomes young and adult women, including women with disabilities and women who have been displaced.

SWIS Africa leads the consortium and coordinates communications, stakeholder and government engagement, and reporting. ZFWI leads the technical training on upcycling and food safety, and ElevateHER leads digital delivery, e-commerce training and peer mentorship. The consortium will work with state Agricultural Development Programmes and will share its findings with the government in a policy brief.

The Nourish, Save, Earn (NSE) project is a timely and important intervention for Nigeria, particularly for women who play a critical role in food production and food security. Beyond promoting sustainable food practices and reducing food waste, the project aligns strongly with SWIS Africa's mission to make STEM knowledge and opportunities accessible to women at the grassroots. We are particularly excited about the opportunity to bridge the gap between scientific knowledge and its practical application by helping women understand and adopt the science behind food preservation, upcycling, and sustainable food production. We look forward to working alongside our consortium partners, whose complementary technical expertise and experience will be instrumental in delivering meaningful outcomes and creating lasting impact for women and their communities.-Samuel Ogunsola, Co-Founder and Executive Director, SWIS Africa.

“ One reason Nourish, Save, Earn stands out is its potential to bring circular food systems to life at the grassroots. The project builds on women’s central role in local food processing, aligning closely with Zero Food Waste Initiative’s (ZFWI) mission to reduce food waste through education, research and innovation.”  Said Temitope Akinyemi, CEO and Founder, Zero Food Waste Initiative.

“Digital skills open up opportunities virtually across all sectors of the economy. We strive to ensure women are included by bringing down barriers to access,” said Aisha Kwaku, CEO and Co-Founder, ElevateHer Innovation Space.

"The NSE project turns environmental challenges into tangible economic opportunities. By equipping women across six zones with food-waste upcycling skills, backing 60 new micro-enterprises, and combining inclusive digital learning with peer mentorship, we are creating a scalable model that converts agricultural waste into sustainable livelihoods", said Olubukola Funsho-Sanni, Project Director, NSE-Nigeria.

NSE-Nigeria is supported through the STREAMING project, funded by the European Union under Horizon Europe (Grant Agreement No. 101182256).

About SWIS Africa: Shaping African Women in STEM (SWIS) Africa is a non-profit organization aimed at celebrating, promoting, and shaping African women in STEM through storytelling, innovative programs, and strategic partnerships.

About ZFWI: Zero Food Waste Initiative advocates for food waste reduction, reuse and recycling toward global food security and a healthy planet.

About Elevate Her Innovation Space: Elevate Her Innovation Space equips ambitious women with the digital skills, confidence, and support needed to build sustainable careers and access global remote opportunities without compromising family life. 

Media contact

Name: Samuel Ogunsola

Email: samuel@swisafrica.org

Phone: +1 (431) 668-3669

EU FUNDING DISCLAIMER

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Executive Agency (REA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.